Edwin



(No Model.)

- I E. APPLEBY. AGETYLENE GAS APPARATUS.

No. 598,837. Patented Feb. 8, 1898.

Fig.1.

IINTTED STATES EDWIN APPLEBY, OF LONDON, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO HUBERT FOURAORE HARRIS, OF SAME PLACE.

ACETYLEN E-GAS APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 598,837, dated February 8, 1898.

Application filed March 22, 1897. Serial No. 628,685. (No model.) Patented in England March 17, 1896, No. 5,976.

To a whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDWIN APPLEBY, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at London, England, have invented new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for the Manufacture of Acetylene Gas, (for which I, jointly with Hubert Fouracre Harris, also of London, England, have obtained a patent in Great Britain, No.' 5,976, dated March 17, 1896,) of which the followingis a specification.

My invention relates to apparatus for the manufacture of acetylene gas, and has for its chief object to provide means whereby the gas shall be generated in given quantities from time to time, as required for use, thereby obviating waste and at the same time rendering unnecessary the storage of more than a small quantity of gas.

In carrying out my invention I provide a generator, at water-su pply apparatus provided with a measuring device for introducing given quantities of water into the generator, a gasholder adapted to contain the quantity of gas which the water introduced into the generator at any one time will generate, and a watertank of a capacity equal to that of the gasholder and in communication with the said gas-holder.

To enable my invention to be fully understood, I will describe the same by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figured is a sectional elevation of a generating and storing apparatus constructed according to my invention, and Fig. 2 is a detail of the same. Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 of a modified form of apparatus.

a is the generator, which is advantageously of cylindrical form and provided with a removable gas-tight cover.

6 is the gas-holder, which is connected with the generator by a pipe 0, extending from the top of the said generator to a point near the top of the said holder, and cl is the watertank, which communicates with the holder at a point near the bottom through an opening e. As shown in Fig. 1, the gas-holder b is arranged inside the tank 01 in such a manner that a space is formed between the said gasholder and tank to contain water. In this case the capacity of the tank 01 will be at least double that of the gas-holder.

f is the rose or nozzle, through which the water is injected into the generator, and g is a supply-tank provided-with a supply-pipe h and a ball cook or valve 1'. With this arrangement as water is introduced into the generator and falls on the calcium carbid therein gas will be generated and flow through the pipe 0. into the gas-holder Z), displacing the water which will flow through the pipe or opening e into the tank d. As the gas is used and flows through the pipe 61, the water from the tank cl will flow back into the gas-holder. Should the quantity of gas generated be greater than that which the gas-holder is capable of containing, the excess will escape through the opening 6 into the tank d and thence into the atmosphere.

In order to avoid the waste of gas as far as possible, I provide that the quantity of water which at any time shall come into contact with the calcium carbid shall be only such as will generate about enough gas to fill the holder 1). For this purpose I arrange that the vessel g shall form a measuring vessel, the ball-cock being so arranged that when the required quantity of water is in the said yes sel g the flow of water past the cock t'shall stop.

In the pipe 7', which connects the tank 9 with the rose f, I arrange a ball-cock k, and in the supply-pipe h I arrange another cock Z, which is connected with the lever of the ball-cock 76 by the link m, so that both the cooks Z and 70 will be operated simultaneously. These cocks are so arranged that when one is open the other is closed, whereby when the waterlevel in the tank dis so low as to open the cock 70 to allow the contents of the cistern 9 to flow into the generator no water will flow into the cistern g, notwithstanding that the ball-valve c' is open. As the generation of gas proceeds the level of the water in the cistern d rises so that the cock his closed and the cocklis opened to refill the cistern g through the ball-cock 1 It is to be understood that any suitable arrangement of cocks or valvesfor insuring the emptying of the cistern 9 before the water again commences to flow into it or otherwise supplying measured quantities of water may be used, that which I have described being only given as an example.

n is a check-valve which is arranged between the rose f and the cistern 9 for preventing the gas from flowing back into the said cistern, the said valve opening under the water-pressure, but closing under the gaspressure in a manner which will be readily understood by reference to Fig. 2.

0 is a pipe connected with the bottom of the generator and serving for discharging the contents when Washing it out, and 0 is a cock therein.

The arrangement of my invention shown in Fig. 3 operates in exactly the same manner as that shown in Fig. 2, the essential difference of this modification from the arrangement described being that the tank cl is outside the gas-holder b and that the generator at is carried upon the wall of the said tank d.

Having now particularly described and as? certained the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is 1. In apparatus for the manufacture of acetylene gas the combination of a generator, a gas-holder, a Water-tank connected with the said gas-holder at the bottom and of a capacity capable of receiving the water displaced from the said gas-holder and a water-supply cistern connected with the generator and supplied from a water-main, the cooks for controlling the supply of water to the said cistern and the discharge of water from the said cistern into the generator being operated by the rise and fall of water in the water-tank, substantially as described.

2. In apparatus for the manufacture of acetylene gas wherein water is supplied to the generator in measured quantities, the combination with the supply-cistern of a dischargepipe having a cock such as it, an inlet-pipe having a cock such as Z and a float operating the said cocks in such a manner that while one cock is closed the other cock is open, the said float being caused to rise and fall by water displaced from a gas-holder and introduced into a tank in connection with the said gas-holder, substantially as described.

' EDWIN APPLEBY.

Witnesses:

G. F. REDFERN, JOHN E. BOUSFIELD. 

